March 2015

In this recently issued practice update below, the American Immigration Council summarizes a case where an individual who entered without inspection, clarifies the meaning of admission in different circumstances and discusses possible immigration consequences.

Washington, D.C. – The American Immigration Council is pleased to release an updated version of its practice advisory Inspection, Entry and Admission. This Practice Advisory has been updated to include a summary of arguments to be made on behalf of an individual who entered without inspection, subsequently was granted Temporary Protected Status, and now seeks to adjust his or her status. The basis for this argument—and for the court decisions which have adopted it—is that a grant of TPS satisfies the requirement in the adjustment statute that the applicant has been “admitted” to the U.S.

The advisory also discusses of the meaning of “admission” in three frequently encountered situations: when an individual is “waved through” a port of entry with no questions asked; when an individual gains entry through a misrepresentation; and when an individual gains entry by making a false claim to U.S. citizenship. With respect to each, the advisory addresses whether an admission has occurred; what the noncitizen’s status is upon entry; what possible immigration consequences there are to such an entry; and what impact this type of entry may have on a DACA application.

The Daily Beast quoted Attorney Ellen Sullivan in a story about removal proceedings against Mustafa Ozseferoglu, a co-worker/acquaintance of the Boston Marathon bombers. In short, Attorney Sullivan stated that Mr. Ozseferoglu’s immigration case would be extremely difficult without any association–innocent or not– with the Marathon bombers. That is, in a “cancellation of removal” case such at Mr. Ozseferoglu’s case, the burden on the immigrant is extremely—almost unreasonably–high. With the specter of an illicit association with the alleged perpetrators of the Boston marathon tragedy, Mr. Ozseferoglu and his attorney face considerable challenges to successfully arguing that the United States should grant Mr. Ozseferoglu lawful status in this country.